Win Win Win “a go” for Preakness

Win Win Win won the Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. Photo provided by Maryland Jockey Club.

Win Win Win had an easy day at the Fair Hill Training Center, and after consulting with owner Charlotte Weber of Live Oak Plantation, trainer Mike Trombetta said the Preakness is “a go” for the sophomore colt.

It’s a go

— Trombetta Stables (@trombetta_mike) May 10, 2019

Win Win Win has three wins and $367,300 in earnings from seven career starts. He’s also finished in the money three other times, including a third-place finish, behind Tacitus, in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and a late-running runner-up effort behind Vekoma in the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes. In the Kentucky Derby, over a sloppy racing strip, Win Win Win was four wide early and could mount only a mild rally.

“All things considered, he came out of it well,” Trombetta said. “You know, he seems to be back to himself.”

After winning his first two starts at Laurel Park, Win Win Win ran second in the Heft Stakes, a result that has been flattered since, as winner Alwaysmining has since extended his win streak to six and will enter the May 18 Preakness as one of the more intriguing new shooters.

Win Win Win followed that up with a track-record performance in winning the Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, blazing seven furlongs in 1:20.89 while winning off by seven lengths. Prior to the Tampa Bay Derby, however, Win Win Win, a homebred for Live Oak Plantation, was antsy in the paddock, which might have affected his race. Trombetta thinks that he and his team have made progress on that issue.

“I think we figured out how to handle him a little bit better,” the trainer said. “He’s a good-feeling colt, and you know, we’ve changed a few little things with him and it seems to have helped. And they evolve; they’ve got to get used to all this stuff.”

Note: This story was updated at 12:30 p.m.